Another great Album Preview is being offered on kcrw.com -- this time it's the newest CD Teen Dream from Beach House, an indie duo out of Baltimore comprised of native son Alex Scally and French-born Victoria Legrand. I first heard about them when my son brought home their CD Devotion after seeing them warm up for The Walkmen last year. I found them a bit directionless though interesting, so was happy to see I could check out their latest without commitment at the link here. Their dreamy approach reminds me of the 90s band Mazzy Star which isn't a bad thing, though like many bands listening to the entire CD makes for narrow experience -- you just have to be in the mood for something like this for a chunk of time. While I enjoyed listening to all the offerings, thinking that two or three of their tunes will be more my M.O. with this band in the future (notably the tunes "Zebra," "Norway," and "10 Mile Stereo"). I've heard that "Norway" was created in response to the age old band request for a sellable single. This practice has never really bothered me as a consumer as long as the song rates and it's clearly worth the effort.
The CD was released on January 26th packaged with a DVD of videos for each song which are served up by a different director, making for a compelling reason to actually buy a CD. For now Teen Dream is available online through February 8 or February 22, 2010 as the webpage lists both... I wouldn't wait just in case!